Adhesion
by Lollipopdiego
Summary: Chloe had inspired him to strive and achieve things he hadn't tried before. They were complete opposites, yet Paolo loved every bit of her. But can find the courage to tell her that? Chloe/Paolo.


Whoaaa, Diego wrote a Fanfic? Yes, she did! And she hopes you enjoy this! :) This is for swingdancer and violetfireflies' challenge "The Generation Dare" on the Dares Forum. I decided to write about _Paolo and Chloe _at the age of sixteen just because they are adorable!

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**Adhesion **

"Adhesion."

"What?"

From his place on the rock, Paolo hadn't been listening to Chloe's banter. Instead, he had been staring into the distance in the direction drooping sun.

The scenery was breathtaking. Summer's kiss had blessed Harmonica Beach that night. According to Chloe, the ocean temperature was perfect and the white sand was boiling to the touch. The tide was beginning to roll inwards, crashing against the shore. He relished the image of fiery colours dotted the background and inky darkness layered shades of gold.

After sixteen years, Paolo still couldn't believe he lived in a place like Harmonica Town.

His crush and best friend, Chloe, was wading in the water, following his gaze. Instead of a bathing suit, however, she was wearing a bright yellow tank top and jean shorts, both soaking wet. She gestured to the shirt clinging to her porcelain skin.

"Adhesion," she repeated with a slow smile. "You know, when two substances stick together."

Of course she was talking about something scientific! Paolo rolled his eyes. "I'm not a science geek like you," he reminded.

"Now you know," Chloe cheerfully said. "Spending all that time in the mines helps with science, you know."

Chloe dipped her toes into the ocean. Paolo carefully observed her, wondering how the salt water stung her smooth skin, yet be soothingly fresh compared to the scorching sand. As she tentatively took another step, he could tell that she sensed the summer heat on her skin. She sank into the water, sighing in relief. Chin barely touching the surface, she watched bumpy waves crash into the white coast. Bits of her strawberry-blonde locks submerged in the water.

In that moment, Paolo thought she was the most gorgeous and serene looking girl in the universe.

He visualized hopping off his rock and splashing her, just to test her reaction. Maybe he would even wrap his arms around her skinny body to remember that playing with her in the water was real and not one of his many dreams.

But he was too shy, so he stayed put.

Paolo's shyness prevented him from confessing his feelings. He wondered why he didn't straight up tell her. Whenever he attempted to, his heart raced and his hands were clammy and he was unable move. The fear of her rejected him nearly killed him inside.

He cleared his throat.

"Do you want a towel?" Paolo asked, concerned about her health. "I can run back to my house and grab one if you want."

Chloe shot him a look that said that she most definitely did not need a towel, and he pulled his blue and red snapback over his eyes. He should have suspected so, and felt like an idiot asking.

"No," she said, "but we should grab some dinner after I dry off."

At the same moment, Paolo's stomach suddenly decided to sound like a dying whale. It roared in the air with a deafening grumble. He could feel the heat rushing to his face even more. Chloe was turning her head and stifling her laughter.

"Let's go now, for dinner," he quickly said, lifting his gaze and beckoning her towards him. "We should maybe hit the Ocarina Inn."

Paolo almost smacked himself in the head. He was thinking: _awkward, awkward, awkward, I just ruined the peaceful moment._ In his eyes, that was absolutely not cool. Biting his lip, he searched Chloe's face for an expression other than pure glee.

"Yeah, since you're so hungry," Chloe said, smirking.

"S-Shut up."

If there was one thing about Paolo, he detested embarrassing himself.

In fact, that was initially how Chloe and Paolo met.

The first time he caught sight of her four years ago at the summer festival, flip flops kicked back and feet sunken in the water; he knew he had fallen in love. Or whatever love was for twelve-year-olds. It was just the two of them, on the deck. Their parents were lounging on the beach; a beer bottled popped open and chatting the night away.

The fact that Chloe wasn't amongst the other children, splashing in the water or building a sandcastle intrigued him. Paolo liked being alone, and assumed that she did too. After all these years, he figured that their loneliness brought them together.

He had stared at her lazy stance, leaning back on her hands and her legs thrown over the deck. The sunlight was streaming on her flushed freckled face. Her bouncy bright red ponytail branches at the top of her head.

She had caught him staring at her, and said, "Stop staring at me. You're kind of weird, bro."

"It's Paolo," he had said. He then raised an eyebrow at her comment and protested, "I'm not weird."

"Well, whatever. I'm Chloe," she said. She raised her hand for a high five, and he warily smacked it. As soon as he did, she gave him a wide, toothy smile. "Nice to meet you! We should hang."

That was how it started. She enjoyed spending her time amongst the mines, while he had grown up by the sea. She was bit of an outspoken nerd who would pour over hundreds of gems all cluttered and piled on her messy desk. Paolo admired her, because her passion for mining was almost as intense as his fishing dream – possibly even more.

She had inspired him to strive and achieve things he hadn't tried before, like travel to different parts of the island to test new fishing spots, or doing ten more push ups every day so he would have the power to reel a strong fish in.

Most of the time, she talked of travelling to various islands, scoping out their caves and returning to town with hundreds of jewels. Everyone would be eager to buy from her, she said, and she would be making thousands every day.

Personally, Paolo enjoyed the shuffling of papers and scrapes of tools as his father managed the shop. He found solace in the fresh scent of fish and salt water. His dreams involved sitting on a boat and casting a net into the ocean.

They were complete opposites, yet Paolo loved every bit of her. He loved how the light in her eyes brightened when discovering something new, or how when she laughed, the atmosphere around her seemed to brighten.

Now, Chloe was laughing. Her head was thrown back and she hauled herself out of the water. "Where are we going, Mr Paolo?" she joked.

Paolo suggested, "We should buy some pizza."

Chloe instantly agreed.

Minutes later, each holding a slice of pepperoni pizza, the two strolled out of the Ocarina Inn with the silliest grins on their faces. They trampled down the stairs towards the main road, which was thinning out with crowds of people by the second. At this hour in the evening, citizens were disappearing into their houses.

Paolo sunk his teeth into his pizza slice. It was moist and gooey with crimson tomatoes and four cheeses. Every time he exhaled, he sensed the spicy freshness, mixed with a grainy crust. Ever since he grew teeth, Paolo agreed that pizza from the Ocarina Inn was the best on the island.

He was attempting not to spit out his food by the animated story Chloe was telling him.

"And then," Chloe said, eyes wide, "Grandpa said to Owen, 'I'm not quiet, I just don't like them!' Then Owen kind of gets red in the face and sets the bread on fire…"

Paolo nearly choked on his pizza from laughing. "On fire?" he echoed, coughing. "No way!"

Chloe snickered. "We were running around the house trying to put it out. It was crazy – like you know, Owen basically grabbed a bucket of water and threw it inside the stove! Then smoke is everywhere and Grandpa is swearing at him – it was so funny."

Paolo regained control of himself and locked eyes with her. "I bet it was," he said evenly.

Then they burst out laughing again.

"Oh, this is great." Chloe raised her pizza to take another bite. "Just me and you, bro, eating pizza and walking towards the beach. I don't know why this doesn't happen as often."

Seemly out of thin air, a seagull zoomed past them with a victorious caw. The bird rebounded, swooping downwards towards the pair. While Chloe shrieked and ducked behind Paolo, his legs were jelly, unable to move.

The seagull pounced towards Chloe's hands. It snatched the pizza from her grasp and rocketed into the sky, gobbling little bits of it along the way.

"Oh, you stupid, stupid bird!" Chloe yelled. "Come back here!"

Then she was chasing the bird, jumping down every few seconds, desperately attempting to swat at the seagull out of arms reach.

As Chloe sprinted towards the edge of the water, Pablo noticed how her luscious strawberry-blonde hair streamed behind her in waves and how her soft skin glowed in the hue of the sunset. His heart fluttered, realizing that the mousy girl who spent her preteen years roaming the mines was gone and replaced with a new Chloe – the Chloe who enjoyed sciences while munching on a slice of pizza.

He imagined trailing his hands across her shoulders and tangling his fingers through her while curls. Then there was something about her bare feet kicking up flurries of sand and her skinny arms thrown out to the sides that made him want to join her. He craved feeling the wind whipping past him as he jogged and wanted to feel the pounding in his chest becoming louder and louder. He yearned to grab her and be alongside her, because with the floating sunset and rushing waves, the moment just felt so right.

So Pablo did. "H-Hey Chloe, slow down a little bit!"

He jogged alongside the beach until they fell into step, running after the screeching seagull in a laughing pursuit. Their footsteps splashed against the edge of the water and before he knew it, Chloe was trampling in the rushing waves. She was thrashing and jumping around in every direction, screaming at the seagull, "Give back my pepperoni pizza!"

Pablo was throwing his head back and clutching his stomach, because she was waist deep and drenched head to toe once more. Drops of water were flicking off her delicate skin like dewdrops on a Sunday morning.

There was adrenaline and confidence rushing through his body, and as he gazed at her, she stopped and met his eye. He would never forget the way the dimming sun reflected on her body, or the faded sound of the colliding ocean.

And Paolo would never forget thinking that the moment was perfect.

So Pablo reached out and just sort of

Kissed her.

And to his astonishment, she was kissing him back. Her arms thrown around his neck and pulling him closer until their chests were touching and stomachs pressed together. He was filled with glee and satisfaction, and in his mind he was repeating, "I did it. I told Chloe."

Paolo still couldn't believe what had just taken place until she pulled back. Her face was broken out into a smile, with her dimples deepening as the seconds passed. This close, he could join all the freckles on her face. She leaned in once more, so her lips were hovering above his ear.

"I should have done that such a long time ago," she said. "You know: if this is where all the secrets come out, we should come to the beach more."

"I think here is just fine," Paolo said. He glanced downwards and smirked. "Our t-shirts are sticking together."

Chloe burst into a fit of giggles. "Adhesion," she said, gently shoving him.

Paolo collapsed and joined in. With his sides hurting from laughter, he splattered water in her direction.

Then he kissed her once more, so he knew it was real.

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Yay cliche ending for the win! I wrote this to got my creative juices flowing for NaNoWriMo and it did! :D So thank you! I hope you enjoyed that!

I realize that whatever reputation I have on fanfiction - I really don't know what that is but people tell me - that this is not one of my usual fully developed one-shots. So I politely ask you not to critique the plot of this story.

Thanks for reading! _Hey I just met you and this is crazy but here's my fanfic so review it maybe~~_


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